First Battle of New Jerusalem
Did you mean the Battle of New Jerusalem, which came approximately a year later? The First Battle of New Jerusalem is the name given to the first engagement between Covenant and UNSC forces on and around the planet of New Jerusalem. It marked the first time Task Force Bravo met DAB-101, who would later go on to become a core member of their team. Background After the unsuccessful Daego Insertions, Task Force Bravo continued to search for Caskets, during Operation: EUREKA. This search took them to New Jerusalem, where they were to find three of the five Caskets that had survived until 2551. However, the Covenant were also searching for these artefacts, and so they too arrived at the planet. Inevitably, a major battle ensued. Battle Beginning Arriving at New Jerusalem, the UNSC frigate Sword of Giants deployed twelve Albatross dropships - each of which carrying an Elephant transport and a Marine Task Force - to the surface. The dropships were also accompanied by a wing of Wombats. Shortly after entering the planet's atmosphere, Task Force Bravo's Albatross was unexpectedly shot down by a Kig-Yar Pirate Phantom and crashed in the deserts of the planet. Private First Class Seamus Greco died in the crash. Bravo cleared the crash-site and made their way to a settlement. When they reached the settlement, they used several civilian vehicles to meet up with the rest of the Task Forces at New Haifa. They then headed to the city of Tzab Shveh. Kig-Yar Ambushes During the hours that followed, the Task Forces' Elephant convoy was constantly ambushed by Kig-Yar Pirate forces. In one of these ambushes, the Kig-Yar managed to neutralise three Task Forces and board the Elephants, which prompted Task Force Bravo to use a Target Locator on them. Shortly after, several Shortswords arrived and bombed the Pirates. The remaining Elephants continued to make their way to the city. Discovery of the Armoury While the convoy was still stranded in the deserts, a Covenant fleet arrived at New Jerusalem and attacked Tzab Shveh, forcing the Kig-Yar pirates to abandon the planet. During this attack, they deployed an energy shield around the city. With the assistance of Garth Chyenka and James Croft, Task Force Bravo captured a Type-36 Scarab and used its plasma beam to destroy the shield. They then entered the city and met up with a squad of Marines who helped them neutralise Covenant AA emplacements. Not long after, a massive Forerunner artefact known as the Armoury started emerging from beneath the city, seemingly due to Covenant excavations. Arrival of a SPARTAN As the Armoury was rising out of the ground, and destroying Tzab Shveh in so doing, its standing monitor, 049 Abject Testament, detected the presence of non-Reclaimer technology in the system, and DAB-101 came out of slipspace in the Prelude to Penance. Abject Testament prepared to fire on the corvette, but Croft ordered him to do a scan before doing so, and the scan revealed that the only life form on board was the human DAB-101. They began to debate on why they should trust one another. However, the discussion was cut short when the Armoury's emergence broke the foundations for the Tzab Shveh space tether. The elevator began to topple, threatening to destroy the city and kill its residents. In response, DAB took the Prelude to Penance into slipspace above the city, which took most of the elevator with it, while the rest of its debris was pulled into orbit. Before the Prelude left, DAB was able to deploy to the surface via Orbital Insertion Pod and join Task Force Bravo, at the Armoury's entrance. Evacuation of New Jerusalem and the Prelude's Last Stand After taking the Armoury's artefacts (three Caskets) and destroying the facility, DAB-101 and Task Force Bravo evacuated Tzab Shveh's residents to the stolen Covenant CSO-class supercarrier, Requisition of Prosperity, and later the planet's entire population. Before they left to Reach, DAB-101 managed to convince Captain James Croft to leave the Sword of Giants behind, as the Covenant had already seen it and would eventually locate it. The Prelude to Penance was also left behind. Approximately a month after the Requisition left, the AI of the Prelude received a message saying that the supercarrier's reactor had failed. Immediately, the AI sent the Sword of Giants to the Requisition's position. The AI, along with the Prelude, were eventually found and destroyed by the Covenant. The Covenant never glassed New Jerusalem during this battle. Instead, most of them returned to ''High Charity'', after the Armoury's destruction. Humanity would later return to the planet and repopulate it. Aftermath There wasn't time to take the Forerunner artefacts from the Requisition to Reach, as the civilians were deemed more important by James Croft and DAB. This later resulted in a minor engagement between a small Covenant fleet and the prowler ''Silent Blade'', over the ruins of the Requisition and all the Forerunner artifacts it still held. The UNSC eventually won by exploiting the faith of the Covenant, knowing that they wouldn't fire upon the Requisition while it held so many artefacts. Furthermore, the First Battle of New Jerusalem helped reveal who the traitor who activated the initial Casket on Crystal was, and eventually led to his apprehension. The success of the UNSC in this venture at New Jerusalem, at such a little cost, easily outweighed the failure of the Daego Insertions, and so effectively saved Operation: EUREKA from being shut down. The final mission in the operation commenced shortly after, but was by far the longest in the operation, as (including time spent in slipspace), it took a year to complete. This mission was colloquially called the Expedition to Cyrus VII, despite the fact that only a small portion of it occurred there. Timeline April 7 *'0834 Hours:' The [[UNSC Sword of Giants|UNSC Sword of Giants]] arrives at New Jerusalem and sends multiple Albatross dropships to the surface. *'0902 Hours:' Task Force Bravo's Albatross is shot down by a Kig-Yar Pirate Phantom. Seamus Greco dies in the crash. *'0945 Hours:' After clearing the crash-site, Bravo reaches a settlement in the middle of a desert and uses Genets to link up with the Elephant convoy at New Haifa. *'2021 Hours:' While on its way to the city of Tzab Shveh, the Elephant convoy is ambushed for the first time by Kig-Yar. April 8 *'0356 Hours:' The Elephant convoy is ambushed for the second time by Kig-Yar. *'1140 Hours:' The Elephant convoy is ambushed for the third time by Kig-Yar. *'1539 Hours:' The Elephant convoy is ambushed for the fourth time by Kig-Yar. Task Force Bravo uses a Target Locator to clear out enemy forces. *'2301 Hours:' A Covenant fleet arrives at the planet and places an energy shield around Tzab Shveh. They begin excavating for artefacts. The Kig-Yar pirates are forced to abandon the planet. April 9 *'0717 Hours:' Task Force Bravo hijacks a Type-36 Scarab and uses its plasma cannon to destroy the energy shield. *'0822 Hours:' With the assistance of Marines Charles Taylor and Ray Sullivan, Bravo neutralises several Covenant AA guns. *'1051 Hours:' The Armoury, a massive Forerunner facility, starts emerging from beneath the city. *'1100 Hours:' DAB-101, in his corvette, comes out of slipspace over the city. *'1113 Hours:' Tzab Shveh's space elevator collapses. Luckily, the Prelude to Penance manages to pull most of its debris into slipspace. *'1548 Hours:' DAB-101 and Task Force Bravo take the Armoury's Caskets, destroy the facility, and evacuate New Jerusalem's civilians to the stolen Covenant ship, Requisition of Prosperity. May 15 *'1225 Hours:' The AI of the Prelude to Penance sends the Sword of Giants into slipspace. Immediately after this, the Prelude is found and destroyed by the Covenant. Category:Operation: EUREKA Missions